Reviews
Properganda Magazine (Clive Pownceby):
Ms Crook – initially acclaimed as an outstanding lever harp player and vocalist – has surely elevated as a soloist into “a talent with a white light future” as Musician magazine asserted. Her own-right debut, 2008’s A Few Small Things drew good notices and highlighted the quality of her songwriting skills – rich and reflective tales of musings, memories and aspirations. Having been involved in a fair few bands and collaborations – from dance/fusion, and traditional through to soft folky pop, she’d wanted to be regarded primarily as a singer/writer and the harp now has equal billing with a Gibson guitar as the accompaniment of choice.
The game plan has worked! Catching Butterflies, is the opener in this set – well, the chrysalis stage is way behind her, she’s “destined to fly” as the song has it. The once-Jenny became Jennifer and these days she wears red paraphrasing another of her song titles, or perhaps a chic orange satin number with cocktail gloves, judging by the photo shoot for this second release. This visual makeover suggests a new sassy, sophisticated image for the Bath-based artist. The record’s potential crossover selling points, quite apart from the irresistible, superior songs and engaging vocal style are the involvement of Boo Hewerdine as producer, musician and co-writer on two cuts plus Eddi Reader as back-up vocalist on three tracks.
The recording benefits from the contributions of Crook’s other musicians, who include Bethany Porter on cello from the previous album and the incomparable Darrell Scott from Kentucky on mandolin and dobro who opines “I see the depth in Jennifer’s songwriting – hope and experience, (she’s) very strong in both.” Darrell’s judgement can’t be faulted – here are literate, thoroughly fresh takes on meditative regret – “I’m kicking through the leaves on Lovers Lane alone” from Come September or the exhilaration of a hoped for encounter “It might be the one you’ve been holding for years that suddenly comes into sight.” (Coming Down The Road) Elsewhere are tuneful ruminations on the vagaries of fate and speculations on love and loss allied to supple persuasive melodies.
With no studio trickery in sight, Boo’s trademark tight-but-loose production values display a shrewd restraint. Even in these days of Jessie J and Rihanna, there IS a market for erudite, beautiful music like this and Jennifer makes a handsome case for it with this adroit offering. My world seems a better place today!
Properganda (online):
Over two solo records Jennifer Crook has surrounded herself with an impressive cast, the hired help including Rob Habron, Miranda Sykes, Clive Gregson, Darrell Scott, Eddi Reader and Boo Hewerdine. The latter occupies the producer’s chair for Merry Go Round, contributing two co-writing credits to a CD that proves Jennifer is every bit at home with the company she keeps.
The Bath based harpist has also taken to the guitar and both instruments feature through these carefully textured songs that serve Jennifer’s elegant voice beautifully. The duet with Darrell on Cowboys is goose-bump-gorgeous, the quirky Probably The Rain and the instrumental vignette of The Spin top and tail the excellent She Wore Red. Another duet, this time with Boo leading Baltimore into the closing take on Gillian Welch’s One Little Song prove a sublime conclusion. The latter’s simple harp and the harmony of Jennifer and Eddi Reader is breath taking. Mention should be made too of Bethany Porter as Jennifer’s regular musical foil who provides cello and vocals, adding drama to Time Stood Still and the swelling emotions of Coming DownThe Road. Utterly beguiling.
Maverick:
****
A brilliant new album after a long time waiting
At last – a new CD from Jennifer Crook! It’s been a long time since 2008’s A FEW SMALL THINGS. Has it been worth the wait? The short answer is: definitely! Albums need a strong start; a good opener to catch the ears and the imagination, setting the scene for what is to follow. Catching Butterflies succeeds admirably. The opening notes augment the title, summoning visions of fluttering butterflies before the bittersweet, delicate lyrics drift in. The song is the first of a number on MERRY-GO-ROUND to feature conflicting emotions of times past; of what might have been but never quite was. Jennifer’s harp is well to the fore, as is a hammered dulcimer (as played here by Maclaine Colston). Boo Hewerdine (producer of the CD) is on acoustic guitar and Mellotron, Kevin McGuire on double bass and the backing vocals are provided by Dorie Jackson and Eddi Reader. All of the above – plus some other notable additions – reappear over the course of the CD.
I like the way that Bethany Porter’s cello introduces the second track, When Time Stood Still. The music builds to represent a ticking clock, while the lyrics deal with a little more loss and longing.
A big change of style occurs in the fourth track, with Americana giant Darrell Scott duetting on Cowboys. As the title suggests, it’s probably more County than Folk but it’s still a ballad, featuring just two voices and two acoustic guitars. Darrell’s gravelly tone contrasts so well with Jennifer’s that it left me wanting to hear more by way of collaboration.
Two more songs stood out for me. Coming Down the Road is more outwardly positive than most of the other tracks, with the ‘sweet’ sentiment going unchallenged by a ‘bitter’ counterpoint. And finally, One Little Song brings things to a delightful conclusion with vocals by Jennifer and Eddie Reader backed only by the former’s harp. Baltimore and Probably the Rain are credited to ‘Boo Hewerdine/Jennifer Crook’ and One Little Song was written by Gillian Welch, but all of the others were written by Jennifer herself – an impressive achievement. The songs of Jennifer Crook deserve to be known by a wider audience. MERRY-GO-ROUND provides an excellent and easily accessible starting point to her musical world.
Sean Marsh
NetRhythms:
It’s apparent from the opening number, Catching Butterflies, that this was a fruitful inspired collaboration, Crook’s blue skies voice as crystal pure as her shimmering harp slightly reminiscent of the young Eddi Reader who herself provides backing vocals on both this and the lovely vocal and harp closer, One Little Song.
Sounding as if it was put down live, Probably The Rain with its chugging music hall meets reggae backing, is the friskiest number musically, but it’s the more reflective numbers like She Wore Red‘s hymn to the free spirit 60s that stand out and mark her transition from go to session harpist to star turn.
Taplas
This collection is as pretty as the artwork that shines from it’s cover. Jennifer Crook’s clear vocals, subtle instrumentation and seamless production add up to a polished product. It’s a mood lifting journey bringing to mind the infectious pop of Edie Brickell, catchy and wholesome. It’s nostalgic of long summers and merry go rounds and captures an exhuberance both youthful and expectant of experiences yet to be explored.
Her musicianship is evident and the harps hues lend a depth tantamount to her skills. Her lyrics are imaginative and spark a joyful flush of the more innocent pleasures in life… her clean delivery and the sense of virtue that permeates perhaps begs for a little more authenticity, a little harsh reality – but perhaps that is nothing more than the envy of a happy and unpretentious soul!
R2 - Rock'n'Reel:
Crook is a class act… delivering instantly hummable, captivating vignettes in her warm, generous voice. It would of course be churlish to ask for more, yet more there is. What gives this album the edge is the clutch of tracks into which she weaves her magnificent harp playing… on half the tracks here there is a space in the arrangements that simply glistens
fRoots:
Here we’re presented with a set of ten charming new songs on which Jennifer clearly feels entirely at ease with herself, her craft and her support crew… with some typically appealing melodies that you swear you know from somewhere but can’t quite place. Jennifer’s gently judged singing proves ideal for her material… It’s a lovely CD.
Spiral Earth:
And they don’t come much better than Darrell Scott on the austere duet and instant classic ‘Cowboys’. Jennifer has employed her stellar studio cast well and her expertise for songwriting and arrangement define this accomplished album.
Fish Records:
‘Merry Go Round’ really delivers both lyrically and musically. She’s put together an amazing team to work on this collection, it starts with the production of Boo Hewerdine who brings his acoustic contemporary folk sensibilities to the fore with his gentle balance that shows the songs and arrangements in the best light. He brings Jennifer’s vocals and lyrics to the fore, but still keeps detail in the backing and a real crispness to the overall sound – it’s the perfect balance for acoustic folk.
The musicians providing the backing are some of the finest on the acoustic music scene, with Darrell Scott adding guitar, mandolin and dobro, Eddi Reader backing vocals, Andy May piano, and of course Boo provides a whole range of instrumentation across the disc. It’s a first rate band, and the overall feeling is laid back, understated and relaxed; and that’s a perfect match for Jennifer’s vocals and lyrics.
The lyrics are well constructed and thoughtful singer/songwriter material – there are stories to tell and characters and situations to be fleshed out, and she does a great job of sharing these with the listener. From the vivid storytelling in ‘She Wore Red’ to the beautiful imagery in ‘Come September’, Crook is a writer who paints a picture with an elegant turn of phrase.
Live Reviews
MAVERICK MAY 2011 (Bournemouth Folk Festival):
Next came lovely singer-songwriter Jennifer Crook who captivated the audience with a beautiful selection of ballads taken from her album BLACK FLY and her forthcoming offering MERRY-GO-ROUND on which Scottish singer-songwriter Eddi Reader is providing backing vocals. Jennifer’s opening number A Rose in Morning and Gillian Welch’s One Little Song really stood out. This was a faultless performance from an underrated singer who is also an excellent guitarist and exponent of the electric harp.
MAVERICK MAY 2011 (7th Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival and Songwrting Convention)
Jennifer from the south of England is a beautiful woman with a gorgeous voice to match, a very soft easy listening voice, melodies to put the most experienced songwriters to shame. The pretty chord changes of Coming Down The Road, reminded me a lot of Sally Barris. Recently Jennifer recorded Cowboys a duet with Nashville songwriter Darrell Scott. The lyrics are very clever, I remember a line that went like this: ‘Too old to follow cowboys down dusty old roads, too young to settle. Jennifer finished her round with a really laid back Merry Go Round. This song was very special to her as her hero Eddi Reader is singing the backing vocals on the record. Well-written lyrics, great turnaround, very pretty chord sequences … a very special performance from a lady who will definitely make waves.
